College

Commentary: What does it say about Big East? Addazio's move to ACC another blow By Mike JensenMcClatchy Newspapers

Temple head coach Steve Addazio shouts to players during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Army on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, in West Point, N.Y. Temple won 63-32. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

PHILADELPHIA — No one on North Broad Street can be shocked that second-year Temple football coach Steve Addazio left vapor trails taking off for Boston College, grabbing the first job offered by a school from a BCS league.

The New England native, a Connecticut boy, left Tuesday for the northern outpost of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a safer haven and presumably a more lucrative one. If Temple got an ACC invite, the school would take it in a heartbeat. You’re supposed to blame Addazio for doing the same?

Boston College has been struggling since Matt Ryan’s days at quarterback and wasn’t going to attract a hothead coach. But the Eagles clearly decided they wanted a head coach, so Addazio got the call. Funny that former Owls coach Al Golden was rumored to be highest on BC’s wish list, but Golden apparently decided that digging out from probation in Coral Gables is better than a revival act in Boston. He’s done that in one pro town already.

When Golden was at Temple, he would have crawled to Boston for that job. From that angle, Temple should be proud of itself. After firing four straight head coaches over the years, the Owls now have watched two leave for greener grass. Progress!

Of course, the greater upward ticks, the real progress, came on the field, despite this year’s expected dip. Temple certainly can sell an upper-and-comer that this isn’t a graveyard job like it used to be.

Did BC make a good hire, bringing in a guy who can get the Eagles back to bowl games every season? Let’s guess yes without having to put our money on it. Addazio took Golden’s players to a bowl victory last season, something Golden hadn’t done. It was obvious that Golden also left the cupboard lighter after that season and it showed when the Owls went 4-7 this season with three FBS victories. We were only just about to find out about Addazio as a head coach with his own guys.

His departure shows that for all its upgrades, Temple remains a tough place to be a football coach for the long haul. No shock there. So what does the school need in a coach? Somebody who can control the locker room, obviously, be fully in charge, fend off Big Ten programs now in two directions, figure out imaginative ways to get talented players, and have the X and O acumen to win the close ones.

Football coaches don’t have to be razzle-dazzle guys. They don’t even have to be nice guys, judging by the most successful models in college and pro right now. However, having a razzle-dazzle product would be OK if it comes with the rest of the package. Oregon coach Chip Kelly is only coming to town if he can work on Sundays, but might he have a young disciple?

That said, good coaches can come from anywhere. Kelly’s previous stop was New Hampshire.

Given Addazio’s quick departure, should a candidate’s resume include a willingness to stick around awhile? That shouldn’t be on the list of criteria at all. Keep hiring the guys with ambition to move on. There are plenty of them, and Temple will hold a news conference to announce the next one soon enough.

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